Known to the locals as the “Pancake Regatta”, the fourth annual Naples Island Collegiate Rowing Challenge took place on 11/04/17 on home turf (Pete Archer Boat House). The Naples Island College Rowing Challenge, or NICRC for short, is an annual regatta hosted by the Beach Crew Alumni Association, with this year being the fourth year that this tradition has been upheld; however, the regatta itself is a collaborative community effort, which would not be possible without the help of the many involved. The NICRC’s main race is the 4400m head race around the Naples Island, which is then followed by the 850m Novice Sprints. The prize for winning the regatta is the perpetual Queen Mary Trophy and is awarded to the team with the most cumulative points. This year’s Trophy went to UC Santa Barbara’s Crew, who won the total most events at the regatta. Results listed below in the order the events took place:

The alumni, the Queen Mary, the Seal Beach Lion’s Club, the Long Beach Yacht Club, the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, the City of Long Beach, the Long Beach Aquatic Capital of America, the Long Beach Rowing Association, our Southwest Region USRowing referees, and last but not least the many volunteers, were involved in the preparation of this year’s regatta (apologies if you were not listed). Thank you everyone!

SoCal sunshine in November, oarsmen and women pulling their hearts out on the water, endless pancakes, gold medals, The Queen Mary Trophy, and champagne being poured over the bow of the John Cashman by former LBS and US Men’s National team Olympic lightweight rower John Cashman, add all of these together and you’ve got yourself quite the afternoon. That is exactly what it was for Long Beach State Rowing on November 19th, 2016 at the Naples Island Collegiate Rowing Challenge, AKA the Pancake Regatta.

LBS novice men clash oars with UCLA novice. Photo Credit: AC Chacon

NICRC is a unique regatta. It starts with the head race around Naples Island, has a small break which is when the pancakes are served, the medal ceremony takes place, and this year the boat dedication. And is concluded with the novice sprints, an 850m all out sprint race. It serves as an opportunity for novice coxswains to get a taste of things to come for the upcoming spring sprint season, as well as a chance for some LB alumni to get on the water for some fun. I remember thinking I was a hot shot novice year going into this regatta and talking trash with my then novice coach John Fliestra. He was stroking the alumni boat lined up right next to my novice boat. Needless to say, his boat smoked ours.

Photo Credit: Val Stepanchuk

As I said earlier, it was a good day for LBS rowing. The men’s novice and varsity took home gold in the 8+’s and 4+’s events. The wins gave Long Beach enough points to take home the Queen Mary Trophy which is awarded to the school with the most overall points from all races. The varsity men had it easy as they were the only varsity men’s crew even entered in the Regatta, Chapman did enter a 4+ but had to scratch the lineup before the race. The novice men edged out UCLA and UCSB for their victories. The women had a tough opponent in UCSB and came up short this time, but they will bounce back, they’re a resilient bunch.

NICRC was a well organized Regatta and we at Long Beach State are extremely grateful for the opportunity to participate. We are also very thankful for all of the people working hard behind the scenes to make days like this possible. Hopefully there will be many more to come!

It’s that time again for Long Beach State’s annual regatta, the Naples Island College Head Race and the Novice Sprints, sponsored by The Queen Mary, the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Long Beach Century Club. Join us this weekend as several Southern California teams go head to head around the 4200m course around Naples Island. Race times begin 8:00AM on Saturday.

The Seal Beach Lions Club is hosting breakfast at the Long Beach State Boathouse Saturday morning 9:00AM-12:00PM for a $5 donation.

At approximately 10:00am there will be an awards ceremony on the wash deck of the Pete Archer Boathouse to the top performing crews. The Beach Crew Alumni Association will be presenting, for the first time, a perpetual trophy to the overall outstanding team, named in honor of the Queen Mary. The Queen Mary Trophy will be presented to the winning school by Queen Mary Commodore Everette Hoard. We will also be dedicating a 4+ racing shell in honor of LBSU alum John Cashman. LBSU President Dr. Jane Conoley will be the featured speaker.

More information about this weekend’s festivities can be found at http://beachcrew.org/regatta or by clicking on the packet cover on the left.

For those of you unable to join us, TRC is broadcasting the head race event on Sunday starting at 7:00AM, hosted by our very own Dave Straley. Watch it at http://beachcrew.org/live

Members of the Beach Crew Alumni Association are invited to attend a pre-race gathering Friday night, 11/18 6:00pm, at Glory Days Beachside Sport Grill in Seal Beach (620 Pacific Coast Hwy). After the regatta, we will continue the celebration of the newly dedicated John Cashman 4+ at Taco Beach in Long Beach (2099 Bellflower Blvd).